Home team thrills crowd with OFSAA AAA title

The home court final match Wednesday against St. Marcellinus featured a rarity — the Oaks dropping a set. It hadn’t happened all tournament and it had people wondering how they would respond.

Oakridge fans needn’t have worried, head coach Jon Marr said.

“We didn’t come to this tournament to play a one set, we came here to win three and that’s what they did, they came through.”

After losing the first set 25-22, the Oaks roared back to dominate St. Marcellinus and win the gold medal 25-14, 25-16, 25-13.

Oakridge didn’t play as well in the first set of the match and they fell behind early and weren’t making their plays. Perhaps it was nerves. The Oaks had gone undefeated all tournament and were playing in front of a large, loud fan base on their home court.

Marr wasn’t about to let that continue. He said he told the team, “We’re not going to win by not being aggressive, everything has to be an aggressive attack and hit the ball, go for fun.

“Our defence was there, it was established and I think we just needed to pick that up to finish it.”

Marr said afterward, “I’m lost for words. Home court, it’s a dream … I hope (the fans) know what they did for us, they pushed us back in.”

The St. Marcellinus team featured strong hitters but they didn’t have the full complement that allows Oakridge to hit from both sides and the back court, with equal authority.

For co-captains Hannah Petcoff and Natalie Lyons, the two graduating players were laughing through a few tears.

Lyons said, “we’ve been playing together since 12U, and this is our last match on the court together as an Oak and as a teammate, I can’t even describe it, there’s no one I’d rather spend it beside.”

Petcoff said they felt a little doubt in the first set, but Lyons said that some early exits from tournaments earlier in the season, had made them willing to work hard, to make sure it didn’t happen again, “I know how strong our team is, and it definitely paid off,”

Petcoff said the feeling of the gold medal was, “amazing but it’s also really upsetting because I really love playing as an Oak,” and Lyons chipped it, “its bittersweet for sure.”

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